New U.S. Report Seeks to Bolster ‘Understanding That Art Museums Are Workplaces’

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Museums Moving Forward, a U.S. organisation looking to make the sector ‘more just’ by 2030, published its second annual report last week, presenting a snapshot of workplace equity and organisational culture in art museums across America.

The report reveals a mixed picture of art museum work today. Respondents include over 3,200 employees, from junior staff to directors, at 91 cultural institutions, including the Dia Art Foundation, MASS MoCA, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and MCA Chicago.

While workers reported greater career satisfaction compared to the 2023 report, growth opportunities satisfaction decreased, with over three-quarters of respondents having never received a full promotion at their current institution. More than a quarter of full-time staff earn less than the local living wage.

‘Our hope is that this data will help workers advocate for change in their workplaces, support leaders with implementing that change, and bolster the public’s understanding that art museums are workplaces,’ report co-author Liz Levine tells Ocula.

Fifty-four percent have even considered leaving museum work entirely, citing low pay, burnout, and lack of growth opportunities.

For the first time, the survey includes data on museum unions, finding that union members, although still dissatisfied, view unionisation positively and earn salaries 22 percent higher than their non-unionised counterparts.

Workplace organising has picked up momentum in recent years, with more than half of art museum unions formed in the past five years.

Last Wednesday, the same day the report was published, workers at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art declared their intention to unionise as LACMA United, citing ‘expanded responsibilities and workloads, often without additional compensation’. LACMA did not participate in the Museums Moving Forward survey.

In London, meanwhile, labour disputes have erupted at the Tate and the British Library, where strikes began on 27 October. A spokesperson for the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which organised the industrial action at both institutions, tells Ocula that the first week of strikes were a ‘resounding success’, with approximately 150 members on the picket line on the first day and ‘consistently high’ turnout since. Ninety-eight percent of union members voted to strike, and a similar ballot is currently under consideration by staff across Tate’s four museums: Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool, and Tate St Ives. —[O]